Mamagoto — An Edible Magazine

Issue No. 0

This publishing project, created by pastry artist Mio Tsuchiya and FRAGILE BOOKS, gently blurs the boundary between books and confectionery. Each issue explores a single theme drawn from the many meanings of the Japanese word "ma"—the interval, gap, pause, or space between things. Together, FRAGILE BOOKS and Mio Tsuchiya investigate one such "in-between" through both books and sweets.

The theme of Issue No. 0 is "Pupa."

A pupa survives by blending into its surroundings, dissolving its body inside a protective shell before emerging as an adult insect. We see this state as a metaphor for not knowing.

Approaching this idea from the perspectives of scientists, artists, writers, and ordinary observers, the publication gathers reflections on things that remain mysterious or difficult to understand. The issue contains 30 scrolls, each printed as a folded scroll and housed in its own small compartment, like a silkworm sleeping inside its cocoon. The contributors come from a wide range of genres and generations.

Although it hardly resembles a conventional magazine, Mamagoto is an experiment in polyphonic publishing. Somewhere between a book and a confection, it takes shape as a soft, elusive object. We hope that reading it—and tasting it—might awaken our imagination once found in the make-believe games of mamagoto.

Contributors

• Fumio Tachibana (artist)
• Daijiro Morohoshi (manga artist)
• Daihachi Yoshida (film director)
• Eisuke Wakamatsu (critic and essayist)
• Mari Hashimoto (writer and editor)
• Seiran Tsuno (artist, fashion designer, and nurse)
• Mio Tsuchiya (pastry artist)
• rivotorto pieces (artist)

Publication Details

Shipping Information

• Delivery date and time cannot be specified.
• This publication is available for delivery within Japan only. International shipping is not available.
• The confectionery has an estimated shelf life of approximately one week after delivery. Please enjoy it as soon as possible after it arrives.

Mio Tsuchiya

Born in Tokyo, Mio Tsuchiya graduated from Tama Art University. After working in graphic design, she studied pastry making at a confectionery school in Tokyo. In 2012, inspired by cinema, she founded cineca, where she creates narrative confectionery that transforms stories into edible form.

Her distinctive approach draws upon observations of everyday life and landscapes, translating subtle moments and impressions into sweets. Alongside pastry making, she develops recipes, curates projects, creates artwork, and writes, continually exploring new possibilities for confectionery.

In the spring of 2022, she founded Awaimon, a confectionery atelier and shop devoted to forms that embody the idea of ma—the spaces, intervals, and thresholds that shape experience. Her recent publications include She Watches Films. She Tastes Films. (aptp book) and Air Confectionery (Kuuki no Okashi, BON BOOK).